Futur immédiat IV

Original title: Alien Nation

TV Movie
1989
Unrated
1h 42m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

A bigoted human policeman in the L.A. of the future and his alien partner learn to live with each other's differences while attempting to solve a drug conspiracy hidden in the subculture of ... Read allA bigoted human policeman in the L.A. of the future and his alien partner learn to live with each other's differences while attempting to solve a drug conspiracy hidden in the subculture of Los Angeles' newest immigrant population: extraterrestrials.A bigoted human policeman in the L.A. of the future and his alien partner learn to live with each other's differences while attempting to solve a drug conspiracy hidden in the subculture of Los Angeles' newest immigrant population: extraterrestrials.

Director
- Kenneth Johnson
Writers
- Rockne S. O'Bannon
- Kenneth Johnson
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.9/10

1.3K

YOUR RATING

Director
- Kenneth Johnson
Writers
- Rockne S. O'Bannon
- Kenneth Johnson
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos3

User reviews10

6.91.3K

Featured reviews

6b_kite

A good continuation of the 1988 film and set up for the television series.

The TV movie/Pilot for the 1989-90 television series. This is actually a pretty good continuation taking place a short time after the events of the 1988 film. The cast replacements fair well and there's more of a look into the racial undertones with the newcomers. There's a bit silliness involving a fake monster, but despite that this sets the TV series up quite nicely.

10XweAponX

Graham and Pierpoint do Caan and Patinkin

It's not like they look anything like their counterparts in the original film, but they take on personality aspects of the original characters. And they do this perfectly. I can literally see James and Mandy playing these parts in the television show. And if I let my mind wander, Graham and Pierpoint could have played those original film roles.

This film is actually the reverse of theatrical version... in the theatrical version, we have newcomers transforming into something else.

In this made for TV movie which served to launch the TV series, we have what looks like the appearance of a transformation, but it is some thing else.

If you want to find out what that is, I suggest you watch this. This television film mirrors the original film, but we are brought several steps further into the lifestyles of the newcomers, and we are introduced to George "Sam" Francisco's family, if you watch carefully, you will see George carrying around a coffee cup that says I "heart" San Francisco, reminding us that his actual given name was Sam.

Later, on during the actual series, we are introduced to their language, their religious sects, their physiology, and most important their biology.

It is too unfortunate that this series never got its second season, which apparently was planned, but somehow fox network could not fulfill their obligation. But we were given five very good television movies that carried on the saga.

And even as we watch those five TV movies, they pick up at the same spot where the cliffhanger left us, but certain things could not be replicated, the complicated lock on Sikes apartment door for one thing. But they did do a good job continuing the look of the series and the original film.

10brijess-2

One of the Best TV Series Ever

This was one of the best TV series made. It featured excellent stories and some of the finest acting for any show on that year. The characters were developed with care and they added more to each of them in every episode. I was very sad when they canceled the show. The TV movies they made were good, but I wish the series could have stayed on. The story arc about the conception and birth of the alien children was brilliant! I give this series an A+.

Trashman-4

A sad loss.

Another cool show killed before it's time. Every time a cool show comes on they kill it after a season. Well acted and good stories to boot. At least the films have kept it going in fine fashion.

cosmic_quest

Yet another example of a decent show being cancelled prematurely

'Alien Nation' was probably was one of the best sci-fi shows of its time, taking the buddy cop idea and adding in aliens.

A television series, based on the 1988 James Caan film, revolves around Detective Matt Sikes and his alien partner George Francisco. George's people were slaves who managed to escape their masters and are now making a new life for themselves on Earth, where they sought refuge. The aliens' arrival not only bring about much bemusement as human struggle to adapt to their new guests, who have many quirks such as getting drunk on soured milk and the fact it takes three for them to have a child, but there is much prejudices between the two races.

'Alien Nation' had the humour and action that you'd expect of any cop series but with the added intrigue of how humans would cope with such an event, touching upon racial tensions between the two races that are clearly analogy of what America was like in the Sixties as black people fought for their right to equality. That said, the serious issues raised doesn't detract from this being a fun and entertaining show as we see the situations reckless Matt gets into with the calmer, family man George.

It's just a shame it was cancelled only after one series (although Fox obviously realised their idiotic mistake as they revived the characters in the Nineties with a number of made-for-TV films). Why do decent shows never get a chance to prove themselves?

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
The alien ship that lands is called the Gruza. "Gruza" is a Russian word that means "cargo."

Quotes
[a group of human Purists have are protesting the admission of a Newcomer student by blocking the school door]
Ms. Purist: They're unnatural. They've already taking too many jobs, our jobs! If we let her in here now, there'll be a hundred more next week.
Protestor: We don't want them mixing with our kids. Their quarantine wasn't long enough. The ACLU got them released too soon. How do we know they're really safe?
Ms. Purist: I say we run them back to Slagtown!
[Matt fires his gun and the crowd falls silent]
Matt: Why stop with running them back to Slagtown, why don't we just kill them?
[fires his gun again]
Matt: Teach them a lesson. Keep them in their place. Keep America pure.
[crowd cheers]
Matt: We don't even need to paint little stars on them to recognize them, do we?
[cheering stops]
Matt: Hell, they'll be easy to round up. Look at them, they stand out even better than the Japs that we threw into concentration camps back in 1942. This will be a piece of cake. And if enough of us get together, it'll almost seem legal, won't it? Put little white pointy sheets on our heads and hang us a few Slags, huh? Let's start with this little one right here.
[takes Emily's hand and winks at her]
Matt: Just 'cause she's an American citizen, that doesn't make her a human being, does it? So what if she's a little brighter than some of our kids? We can beat that out of her. Discourage her enough, she'll give up. So what if she might have come up with a cure for cancer someday? She's not *civilized* like us. So why don't we just put a gun to her head and end it all right here, huh?
[starts offering his gun to the crowd, but no one will take it]
Matt: Come, pull trigger. Come on, take it. Come on!
[to the rally leader]
Matt: How about you, Ms. Purist? I know you want to come pull the trigger. Get down over here! Come on down!
[Ms. Purist doesn't move]
Matt: What, I have to do it myself? Okay.
[cocks the hammer on his gun]
Protestor: No, we don't want her dead. We just want her back where she belongs.
Matt: [uncocks gun's hammer] She belongs *here*.
[holsters his gun and turns to the crowd]
Matt: Aren't you shamed of yourselves?
[faces a black man in the crowd of protestors]
Matt: Aren't *you*?
[the protestors and the teachers come out to meet Matt and Emily]
Matt: Anybody gives this little one any trouble answers to me, got it?
Principal: Yeah, I do.
Matt: [to Emily] You okay?
[Emily nods]
Matt: Good girl. Now, go in there and show them your stuff.
[the teachers take Emily into the school and Matt turns back to the protesters]
Matt: Party's over people. Anybody still here in three minutes will be under arrest for the violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.